Heading into Friday’s game against the Thunder, the New York Knicks were on a streak rarely seen in recent years. They had won five of their last six squarely against capable opponents like Milwaukee, Indiana and Utah.
The betting market was finally ready to trust the Knicks by making them the home favorites against the OKC. New York scored 89 points and lost in double digits.
Denver has collapsed out of the gate and his agenda is doing him no favor. After losing to Dallas in overtime on Thursday, the Nuggets headed east to play Philadelphia on Saturday and now have the Knicks in the second leg back-to-back.
With an exhausted Nuggets team, top-tier Knicks defense and two slow-paced teams, I’m eyeing the underside on a Sunday night in New York.
After an upheaval for the Clippers landed them a trip to the Western Conference Finals last season, Denver had high expectations for this shortened campaign. So far, the Nuggets’ performance has been underwhelming, as they enter this contest with a record under .500.
Denver has an excellent record at this point in the season. Heading into the Nuggets’ game in Philadelphia, their games are 7-1 this season.
Despite the good rating of the Nuggets on the offensive side, they play at a surprisingly low pace, 24th in the league (99.35) coming into play on Saturday (NBA Advanced Stats), given their tendency to cash. Aside from playing their third game in four days against a solid defense from the Knicks, I don’t see a traditional Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic laser light show happening at Madison Square Garden.
When it comes to defense, Denver is better than advertised. They give up just 9.9 second chance points per game, No. 2 in the league, and are tied for third in opposing quick break points (11.1, NBA advanced stats). The scale is integral because it indicates Denver’s commitment to slow the game down.
It’s hard to say if they’ll rest anyone in this second straight stop, or if there will be health and safety issues after playing a Sixers team recently decimated by positive COVID-19 cases.
Michael Porter Jr. has already been banned for a few games due to COVID-19 protocols. Outside of his absence, Denver should be at full throttle.
I’m not even a Knicks fan and they always frustrate me. It was difficult to project the performance of this team because its inconsistency is remarkable.
It’s impossible to know what New York will do on the offensive side on any given night. They are the personification of the Spongebob “I don’t really want it” meme.
The Knicks come into play on Saturday in 25th place in effective field goal percentage (50.8%), despite notable offensive performances against the Bucks and Jazz. They have an alarming turnover percentage (16.0%) and have seven in the bottom 50 of individual offensive rankings averaging at least 20 minutes of speaking time.
Ahead of Saturday’s NBA slate, New York is tied for fourth in the defensive standings (105.5) and gave up an impressive 104.1 points per game, which is the third best score in the league (NBA Advanced Stats ).
Additionally, the Knicks rank fourth in opponent effective goalscoring percentage (49.9%) and second in opponent 3-point percentage (30.1%, NBA advanced stats).
Just to clarify, I don’t believe in this Knicks team, although I think the organization is going in the right direction. I have no doubts that the lineup of New York roster will frustrate a tired Nuggets side while not being able to score.
This match is force against force. The Nuggets are an elite offense and the Knicks exhibit a special commitment to defense.
New York can only hope to contain Jokic and Murray, who both place in the top ten in the individual offensive standings. I’m sure the Knicks have the defensive weapons to do just that.
Mitchell Robinson and Julius Randle may share the duty of babysitting Jokic. The Knicks’ superior athleticism gives the duo a fighting chance. And while RJ Barrett and Reggie Bullock aren’t of the player caliber Murray is, they do at least present a challenge for future All-Stars in the form of well-rounded offensive play.
That total of 218 is high for two teams ranked in Pace’s bottom 10. The Nuggets needed to expend more energy than they would like against the exhausted Sixers and now face a Knicks defense offering clogged paint and no free baskets.
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